Device for enclosing dry cleaned clothes in inverted bags



J. B. NELSON Aug. 9, 1960 DEVICE FOR ENCLOSING DRY CLEANED CLOTHES IN INVERTED BAGS Filed Sept. 22, 1958 FIG. I.

Y! l i l .l lllu vr w II I I INVENTOR JAMES B. NELSON BY MW ATTORNEY 2,948,095 :Patented At lg t {1960 DEVICE FOR ENCLOSING DRY CLEANED CLOTHES 1N INVERTED BAGS James B. Nelson, Corona, NY. (33-12 90th St., Jackson Heights, N.Y.)

Filed Sept. 22, 1958, Ser. No. 762,454

1 Claim. (Cl. 53-241) This invention relates to a device for enclosing dry cleaned clothes in inverted bags.

It is known that in the dry cleaning industry cleaned clothes such as coats, suits and dresses are delivered to the customer enclosed in inverted bags. These inverted bags are provided with a central opening to accommodate the hook of a clothes hanger, so that the clothes supported by such hanger are enclosed within such bag and may be hung in a closet without removal of the bag. The bag remains on the clothes as a protective sheath until such time as the clothes are to be used.

The problem of handling such bags and applying them to clothes mounted on a hanger has been faced by the dry cleaning industry from the time such bags were first used and the problem has remained insolved until now. The problem has become even more serious with the advent of plastic bags which are extremely flexible and are even more difficult to handle than the previously known and used paper bags.

It is the object of this invention to provide a device for quick and easy handling of bags of the character described and for quick and easy application of such bags to dry cleaned clothes mounted on clothes hangers.

Briefly stated, the present device consists of an elongated pole having an inverted hook at the upper end by which it may be hung from an elevated rack or other support and a pivoted hook at its lower end. In order to use this device, the pole is supported by its inverted hook on an elevated support and an inverted bag is drawn upwardly over the pole until the lower end of the bag clears the pivoted hook. The hook pivots upwardly to permit the bag to be slipped over the pole and once the lower end of the bag clears the hook it pivots downwardly to operative position wherein it is adapted to receive said lower end of the bag and thereby to support the bag on the pole. A clothes hanger carrying dry cleaned clothes may now be hung on said pivoted hook and the bag may then be drawn downwardly to cover the clothes. The clothes hanger hook is now exposed through the central hole in said bag and it may be used as a handle for delivery of the enclosed clothes mounted on said hanger.

Another important object of this invention is the provision of a fork at the upper end of the pole by which clothes hanging on elevated racks may be reached and lowered to accessible positions. By the same token said fork may be used to raise the clothes to elevated racks.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a device made in accordance with this invention showing it is supported onan elevated rack and having a clothes hanger and a suit of clothes hanging therefrom and an inverted bag positioned above said clothes hanger preparatory to being lowered upon the suit of clothes;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary front view of said device;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of said device particularly showing its pivoted hook.

Referring now to the drawing, it will be observed that the device herein described and claimed comprises a relatively long pole 10 having an inverted hook 12 affixed to its upper end and having a pivoted hook 14 mounted on it adjacent its lower end. The upper hook 12 may be secured to the pole by means of a bolt or rivet 16 or by any other conventional means. The function of this hook 12 is to support thepole on an elevated rack 18 or on any other suitable supporting member.

Adjacent the lower end of pole 10 is a cut-out 20 and it will be observed that hook 14 projects into the pole. through said cut-out. In this connection it will be under! stood that the pole is made; preferably, of hollow aluminum tubing so that cut-out 20 provides access to the inside of said tube. The cut-out is an elongated opening in the wall of the tube and the pivoted end of hook 14 projects through said cut-out into the tube. A bolt or rivet 22 pivotally secures the inwardly projecting end of hook 14 to the tube, the pivotal axis being transverse of the longitudinal dimension of the tube.

The curved double-headed arrow in Fig. 3 indicates the directions of pivotal movement of hook 14. When the hook is situated in the position shown in Fig. 3, it rests upon a shoulder 24 formed at the lower end of cut-out 20. This shoulder prevents the hook from pivoting downwardly below its illustrated position in Fig. 3. Hook 14 is free, however, to pivot upwardly (clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3) to bring its curled outer end 14a into the cut-out for a reason which will shortly appear.

In the use of the foregoing device, it is mounted on a rack 18 or other suitable elevated support and an inverted bag 26 is drawn over it, said bag being slipped onto the pole from the bottom and being moved upwardly until it passes hook 14. In its upward movement on the pole said bag does not catch on hook 14 since the hook pivots in clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3 and thereby moves out of the way of the bag. Once the bag clears said hook, however, the hook pivots in counter-clockwise direction under its own weight back to its Fig. 3 position. It is now ready to serve as a hook once again and to catch the lower edge of the bag. The bag is now supported on the pole by means of said hook 14 and the device herein claimed is ready for the next step in the bagging procedure herein described.

The hook 28 of a clothes hanger 30 carrying a garment 32 is now hung upon hook 14. This is shown in Fig. 1. Once this is done, the bottom of the bag may be disengaged from hook 14 to enable the bag to drop down on the garment. The bag may be arranged upon the garment with great ease since the person using this device has both hands free to accomplish this result. The hanger may now be removed from the hook 14, together with its garment 32 and bag 26 enclosing said garment.

Referring now to the upper end of the pole 10 it will be noted that a pair of bowed arms 40 and 42 are secured to said pole by means of a bolt or rivet 44. The lower ends of these arms project into the pole and their upper ends form a fork. Said fork, being mounted as it is at the upper end of pole 10', may be used to reach elevated clothes racks or like supports. Clothes hangers carrying various garments may be placed upon such racks or removed therefrom by said fork.

The foregoing is illustrative of a preferred form of this invention and it will be understood that said preferred form may be modified and other forms may be provided within the scope of the claims. For example, the invention is not limited to a pole made of aluminum tubing. It may be made of tubing of any other suitable metal, such as steel, or magnesium or it may be made of wood, in which case it would not constitute a hollow tube. Other age of the claim.

I claim:

A clothes handling device of the character described, comprising a pole, an inverted hook at the upper end of said pole adapted to hook'onan elevated supporting memher and thereby tosupport' the pole in a vertical, hanging position, and a hook pivoted to said pole adjacent the lower end of said pole, said pivoted hook being adapted to pivot downwardly to a horizontal position wherein it is adapted tosupport a clothes-hanger carrying a garment and being adapted to pivot upwardly to an inoperative position to facilitate slipping an inverted bag upwardly upon the pole, said hook being further adapted when in horizontal position, to support said bag on said pole preparatory to slipping the bag downwardly upon said clotheshanger and the garment carried thereby, a cut-out being formed in said pole adjacent its lower end to re- 2,948,095 V h J ceive the pivoted hook, one end of said hook being pivoted to said pole by means of a pivotal connection within said cut-out, the pivotal axis being transverse of the longitudinal dimension of the pole, said pivoted hook being adapted to pivot on said pivotal connection to bring its free end into said cut-out to avoid snagging a bag which is being drawn up on the pole, at fixed shoulder being provided on said pole at the lower end of said cutout to support'the pivotedhook in its horizontal position and thereby to enable said hook to support said clothes hanger and the garment carried thereby.

References Cited 'in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,628,755 Marchionda- Feb. 17, 1953 2,641,474 Zandelin June 9, 1953 2,711,276 Keefe June 21, 1955 2,864,220 Petrunya Dec. 16, 1958 

